Method for facilitating network external computing assistance

ABSTRACT

There is provided a method for providing pricing information about a potential migration of a network computing task. The method includes the step of providing a provider availability set, identifying a price qualified set for each cloud service provider, and displaying the information about each cloud service provider and its pricing via a user interface. The price qualified set includes each cloud service provider: (a) whose price for performing the task compiles with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the cloud service provider to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

US Published Patent Application No. 2011/0246376 to Devakondra et al points out that network data processing systems are used for a variety of different purposes and come in a number of different forms. Several types of network data processing systems are commonly used by companies and other organizations and may include for example, local area networks, wide area networks, virtual private networks, and other suitable types of networks.

In addition to such networks that may be maintained by the network operator itself, cloud services are available and the users of this type of network data processing systems neither own nor manage the physical infrastructure. In this manner, users may avoid capital expenditures, support costs, maintenance costs, labor costs, and other costs associated with more traditional types of networks. With cloud-based network environments, users consume resources as a service and typically pay based on the use of those resources. By turning to cloud-based computing resources, companies and organizations can avoid capital expenditures, such as costs for hardware, software, information technology services, and other associated costs.

Clouds may include, for example, a public cloud, a private cloud, and a hybrid cloud. A public cloud is a network environment in which users access computing resources over a network, such as the Internet. A private cloud is an internal cloud in which resources are accessed on private networks, such as an intranet. A private cloud also may provide additional separation from other users. A private cloud may include firewalls and other devices to provide for increased security and separation.

Organizations that employ more traditional types of network data processing systems may contemplate whether to change over from their more traditional network environment to a cloud network environment. In view of the fact that the particular cloud services offered by each cloud service provider or vendor will have different features, benefits, service operating requirements, and costs, it would be advantageous for a network operator to have access to tools that can help guide a decision to migrate computing tasks to a cloud. Moreover, it would be advantageous if such tools for a guiding a network operator could equip the network operator to have an accurate picture of the computing resources in its own network that will or can be replaced by the cloud computing resources. Furthermore, network operators can make better informed decisions about purchasing cloud services if they can get pricing information about potential cloud service providers and, especially, pricing information about the scope of computing resources that tasks could be taken over in a cloud service arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to provide a method for facilitating network external computing assistance that is particularly useful for providing pricing information about a potential migration of a network computing task. The method includes the step of providing a provider availability set, identifying a price qualified set for each cloud service provider, and displaying the information about each cloud service provider and its pricing via a user interface. The provider availability set includes those cloud service providers who are deemed capable of performing the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. The price qualified set includes each cloud service provider, (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the cloud service provider to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for providing information about a network, the network being operable to perform a resolution flexible task which is a task that could be performed via a given set of assets of the network or that could alternatively be performed via an alternative task performer external to the network. The method includes the step of providing an availability set each number of which is an alternative task performer deemed capable of performing a resolution flexible task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. The method also includes the step of identifying, with respect to those alternative task performers in the availability set a price qualified set each member of which is an alternative task performer (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. The step of identifying a price qualified set includes evaluating selected operational relationships between assets of the network to determine the scope and extent of computing services that would need to be provided by each cloud service provider in the availability set in the event that the respective cloud service provider were to perform the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. The method further includes the step of at least one of communicating information via a user interface about the price qualified set or initiating the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a tangible computer-readable medium for storing instructions for controlling a computing device to generate an output, the instructions controlling the computing device to perform steps including accessing information about a network that is operable to perform a resolution flexible task and accessing an availability set each member of which is an alternative task performer deemed capable of performing a resolution flexible task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. Also, the tangible computer-readable medium stores instructions for controlling the computing device to perform the step of identifying, with respect to those alternative task performers in the availability set, a price qualified set each member of which is an alternative task performer, (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. The step of identifying a price qualified set includes evaluating selected operational relationships between assets of the network to determine the scope and extent of computing services that would need to be provided by each cloud service provider in the availability set in the event that the respective cloud service provider were to perform the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. The step of at least one of generating an output with a content about the price qualified set, whereby a display device can display a presentation based upon the transmitted content about the price qualified set, or initiating the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set.

Other aspects, embodiments and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description which taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrate the principles of the invention by way of example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the invention itself, will be more fully understood from the following description of various embodiments when read together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart about the method for facilitating network external computing assistance of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary network about which the method of the present invention can provide can provide rapidly understandable and pertinent information for use by the network operator in making decisions about migrating computing tasks to an alternative task performer such as a private cloud computing resource or a public cloud computing resource;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a representative computer that is a piece of the exemplary network illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a display that may be configured on, and configured via, a dashboard platform for displaying information about the price qualified sets obtained via the method of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of different computing environments;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of one variation of the availability set step of the method of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a graphical diagram of a portion of a network as defined via its nodes and links;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the portion of the network shown in FIG. 7 and showing exemplary node-type topology elements;

FIG. 9 is a schematic environmental view of the inputs relating to the various operational relationships in a network and the inputs about the alternate task performers evaluated by the method of the present invention and the outputs generated by the method in the form of price proposals of the alternative task performers that can provide services to the network operator; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a plurality of physical links that are established between the two switches in a computer network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Reference is had to FIG. 1, which is a schematic flow chart about the method for facilitating network external computing assistance of the present invention, and to FIG. 2, which is a schematic illustration of an exemplary network that is representative of the type of network about which the method of the present invention can provide rapidly understandable and pertinent information for use by the network operator in making decisions about migrating computing tasks to an alternative task performer such as a private cloud computing resource or a public cloud computing resource. This method, hereinafter denominated as a method for facilitating network external computing assistance, can provide a network operator with tools to guide decisions about migrating computing tasks to an alternative task performer such as a private cloud computing resource or a public cloud computing resource and tools for automatically effecting the migration of selected computing tasks to an alternative task performer.

“Cloud computing” refers to the access of computing resources and data via a network infrastructure, such as the Internet. The computing resources and data storage may be provided by linked data centers of the “cloud,”—i.e., a “cloud” network. Each of the data centers may include a plurality of servers that provide computing resources, as well as data storage and retrieval capabilities. As used herein, “cloud service providers” refers to the owners or operators of the data centers that operate the “cloud” networks.

The method for facilitating network external computing assistance is particularly useful when executed as a method for providing pricing information about a potential migration of a network computing task. In accordance with this aspect of the method for facilitating network external computing assistance, the method includes the step of providing a provider availability set, identifying a price qualified set for each cloud service provider, and displaying the information about each cloud service provider and its pricing via a user interface. The provider availability set includes those cloud service providers who are deemed capable of performing the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. The price qualified set includes each cloud service provider: (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the cloud service provider to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network.

The method for facilitating network external computing assistance is configured for use with a network and, as seen in FIG. 2, an exemplary network 220 is to be understood as representing any information technology or “IT” arrangement operable to store, manipulate, and present information to the network operator. As seen in FIG. 2, the exemplary network 220 can comprise components enabling the network to operate as a local area network, a wide area network such as the Internet, and/or a wireless network operable to receive a wireless signal from a transmitter 222. The computers comprised by the network 220 may include desktop computers 224, lap-top computers 226, hand-held computers 228 (including wireless devices such as wireless personal digital assistants (PDA) or mobile phones), or any other type of computational arrangement of hardware and/or software. The several computers may be connected to the network 220 via a server 230. It should be noted that any other type of hardware or software may be included in the system and be considered a component thereof.

It can thus be understood that the information technology “IT” arrangement exemplified by the network 220 comprises one or more computers in the general sense. In this connection, reference is had to FIG. 3, which is a schematic representation of a representative computer that is a piece of the exemplary network illustrated in FIG. 2 and it can be seen that a computer 600 includes a processor 602, a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, which communicate with each other via a bus 608. The computer 600 may further include a video display unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer 600 also includes an alphanumeric input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 614 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 616, a signal generation device 618 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interface device 620. The disk drive unit 616 includes a machine-readable medium 624 on which is stored a set of instructions implemented as software 626. The software 626 is also shown to reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 604 and/or within the processor 602. The software 626 may further be transmitted or received via the network interface device 620 and a signal generation device 628 is also provided. It is to be understood that any suitable embodiment of a computer may form a portion or the entirety of the network 220 in that a computer is to be regarded as a machine readable medium including any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine. For example, a machine readable medium includes read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media optical storage media; flash memory devices; or any other type of media suitable for storing or transmitting information.

With reference to FIG. 1, which is a schematic flow chart about the method for facilitating network external computing assistance of the present invention, the method for facilitating network external computing assistance in one embodiment thereof is configured as a method for providing information about a network, wherein the network is a type of network operable to perform a resolution flexible task which is a task that could be performed via a given set of assets of the network or that could alternatively be performed via an alternative task performer external to the network. The method for facilitating network external computing assistance, hereinafter denominated as the network external facilitating method 810, includes the following core steps. As seen in FIG. 1, in an availability set step 820, an availability set is provided, each member of which is an alternative task performer deemed capable of performing a resolution flexible task in lieu of the task being performed by the network.

It is to be understood that each alternative task performer of the availability set may be a cloud computing resource. For example, as seen in FIG. 5, which is a schematic representation of different computing environments, the exemplary network 220 is shown as having its hardware assets located in a building BLDG, the cloud computing resource may be a private cloud computing resource 410 or a public cloud computing resource 412.

In a price qualified set identifying step 830, a price qualified set is identified with respect to those alternative task performers in the availability set, wherein each member of the price qualified set is an alternative task performer: (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. Once a price qualified set is established via the price qualified set identifying step 830, then a procurement step 840 is performed, wherein information about the price qualified set is communicated to the network operator via an information communicating path 842 or the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set is initiated via a task initiating path 844, or both the activities of the information communicating path 842 and the task initiating path 844 are performed.

Some or all of the core steps of the method for facilitating network external computing assistance may be executed in accordance with further protocols in connection with the selected version of the method for facilitating network external computing assistance. For example, the availability set step 820, which provides an availability set, may include designating a collection of assets of the network as the given set of assets and deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network. Moreover, in accordance with one variation of the availability set step 820, the step includes deeming a set of assets less than the total assets of the network to be a first collection of assets of the network, deeming another set of assets less than the total assets of the network and comprising different a different set of assets than the first collection of assets of the network to be a second collection of assets of the network, and iteratively deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the first collection of assets of the network, designating the first collection of assets of the network to be the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network and generating a price qualified set based upon the first collection of assets of the network being designated as the given set of assets of the network, and deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the second collection of assets of the network, designating the second collection of assets of the network to be the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network, and generating a price qualified set based upon the second collection of assets of the network being designated as the given set of assets of the network, and providing information on the price qualified sets generated respectively based upon the first collection of assets of the network and based upon the second collection of assets of the network.

Reference is had to FIG. 6, which is a schematic plan view of the one variation of the availability set step 820, for a more detailed explanation of this step refinement. As seen in FIG. 6, the total assets of a network 910 are designated as a full asset inventory 920 and the one variation of the availability set step 820 includes deeming a set of assets less than the total assets of the network to be a first collection of assets of the network 930, wherein, solely for illustration purposes, it can be seen that the first collection of assets of the network 930 is composed of three arbitrary designated asset sub-groups. The one variation of the availability set step 820 further includes deeming another set of assets less than the total assets of the network and comprising a different set of assets than the first collection of assets of the network 930 to be a second collection of assets of the network 940, wherein, solely for illustration purposes, it can be seen that the second collection of assets of the network 940 is composed of four arbitrarily designated asset sub-groups. The second collection of assets of the network 940 includes a single asset sub-group that is a member of both the first collection of assets of the network 930 and the second collection of assets of the network 940, although it is not mandatory that the second collection of assets of the network 940 include an asset sub-group that is a member of both the first collection of assets of the network 930 and the second collection of assets of the network 940.

A computer terminal REP-TER is shown in FIG. 6 to schematically illustrate the respective computing device that may be deployed to execute the steps of the method of the present invention, including the one variation of the availability set step 820. With continuing reference to FIG. 6, the one variation of the availability set step 820 includes iteratively deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the first collection of assets of the network 930, designating the first collection of assets of the network 930 to be the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network and generating a price qualified set based upon the first collection of assets of the network 930 being designated as the given set of assets of the network. As shown in broken lines in FIG. 6, the sub-step of generating a price qualified set based upon the first collection of assets of the network 930 being designated as the given set of assets of the network yields a price qualified set 954.

The one variation of the availability set step 820 additionally includes deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the second collection of assets of the network 940, designating the second collection of assets of the network 940 to be the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network, and generating a price qualified set based upon the second collection of assets of the network being designated as the given set of assets of the network. The sub-step of generating a price qualified set based upon the second collection of assets of the network 940 being designated as the given set of assets of the network yields a price qualified set 966.

The one variation of the availability set step 820 further includes providing information on the price qualified sets 956, 966 generated respectively based upon the first collection of assets of the network 930 and based upon the second collection of assets of the network 940.

In connection with the procurement step 840, in the event that information about the price qualified set is communicated to the network operator via the information communicating path 842, this can include communicating information about each alternative task performer in the price qualified set and its respective price proposal that reflects a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. For example, information about one or several cloud computing resources (i.e., alternative task performers) can be provided with a respective price proposal for each cloud computing resource that reflects a price for engaging this cloud computing resource to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network.

One decision framework for deciding which collection of assets of the network are to be deemed as the given set of assets can be implemented via the approach of identifying a group of computing operations that are to be considered as suitable to be performed by a cloud service provider in lieu of being performed by the network and evaluating the assets of the network according to an evaluation criteria to determine if each such evaluated asset would be needed in the event that the network were to perform the identified group of computing operations. In this connection, the process of evaluating the assets of the network according to an evaluation criteria can include determining the existence of a dependency between an individual asset and another individual asset, wherein a dependency is deemed to exist if the cumulative computing operations performed by the given set of assets of the network could not be performed if the individual asset were not part of the given set of assets.

The method for facilitating network external computing assistance can be executed such that the availability set includes at least two alternative task performers—i.e., at least two cloud service providers—and such that the step of identifying a price qualified set 830 includes determining the respective price proposal of each alternative task performer of the availability set in compliance with a uniformly applied price work up protocol that is applied to all alternative task performers in the availability set. For example in a given execution cycle of the method for facilitating network external computing assistance to provide a network operator with tools to guide decisions about migrating computing tasks to a cloud computing resource, the step of identifying a price qualified set 830 can generate a list of several cloud computing resources each with a respective price proposal that reflects a price for engaging the respective cloud computing resource to perform the resolution flexible task in lieu of the task being performed by the network and each price proposal can be generated via the application of a uniformly applied price work up protocol that is applied to all of the cloud service providers in the list. The uniformly applied price work up protocol may comprise, for example, determining the price proposal for each cloud service provider as a function of a stated or estimated cost per unit computing resource.

In further connection with the procurement step 840, this step can include displaying information about the price qualified set. Moreover, in the event that the price qualified sets 956, 966 have been generated respectively based upon the first collection of assets of the network 930 and based upon the second collection of assets of the network 940, then the procurement step 840 can include, for example, communicating a hierarchal listing of alternative task performers with the hierarchy being based upon a predetermined user preference criteria. Furthermore, this step of communicating a hierarchal listing of alternative task performers can include communicating the hierarchal listing in a manner which gives preference in the hierarchal listing among the enumerated alternative task performers to those alternative task performers who meet a sponsorship criteria.

An inventory and, additionally, a cataloging via a classification system, of computer software and hardware assets of a network may be maintained manually or may be cyclically updated via an automated discovery tool, which is generally in the form of a combination of hardware and software that operates to automatically “discover” physical and virtual assets of a network and sort the same into a catalog. The computer software and hardware assets of a network are often grouped into logical groups that may be managed collectively, reducing the complexity and costs of managing those grouped assets. However, there is no common protocol for building and naming these logical groups of the computer software and hardware assets of a network. Network operators may create and populate logical groups with individual assets based on some organization-centric criteria or there may be defined groups that are automatically populated based on rules involving asset attributes.

Another approach to creating an inventory of computer software and hardware assets of a network and, additionally, creating a cataloging, of these computer software and hardware assets (organized into a classification system) involves examining the relationships between the nodes and the links of the network. These nodes include physical hosts, virtual machines, network devices, storage devices, and other nodes that provide a similar function. The network nodes are coupled for data communication flow via a data transmission medium which can be considered to be a link. The transmission medium could be wired, wireless, or some combination thereof. In fact, an examination of the relationships between the nodes and the links of a network can reveal a relationship between two or more nodes even where there is no direct architectural relationship between those nodes.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a network as defined via its nodes and links and it can be seen that the selectively illustrated portion of the network 220 includes an initiator node 710, a destination node 712 and a plurality of intermediate nodes 714A and 714B connected via a plurality of links 716 defining a first path 718 and a plurality of intermediate nodes 720A and 720B, and 720C defining a second path 722. The term “node” is used to refer to a terminal point or an intersection point of a network. Depending on the level of abstraction, it may refer to a topology element such as a location in a network, a system, a piece of equipment or an individual component. Examples of node-type topology elements include: abstract elements such as locations and systems (such as a telephony exchange); physical elements such as a router, switch, terminal, hub, branch, intersection or the like; and virtual elements such as channels. The term “link” is used to refer to a topology element providing a connection between two nodes. A link is the abstraction of a transport infrastructure supporting connections between nodes. Link-type topology elements may include physical assets such as a signal conduit, a cable, or a connecting wire and may include non-tangible assets such as may be implemented via software such as a network link.

FIG. 8, which is a schematic diagram of the portion of the network shown in FIG. 7 and showing exemplary node-type topology elements, shows that the initiator node 710 may be a database server 750, the destination node 712 may be a hand held computing device 752, the intermediate node 714A may be a single server 754A, and the intermediate node 714B may be another server 754B connected via a plurality of links 716 defining the first path 718. Also, FIG. 8 shows that the intermediate node 720A may be a data storage arrangement 760A, the intermediate node 720B may be a desktop computer 760B, and the intermediate node 720C may be a laptop computer 760C connected via a plurality of links 716 defining the second path 722.

In the event that the procurement step 840 includes displaying information about a price qualified set, such in formation can be displayed in a format suitable for the network operator to, at the least, have a display of each alternative task performer in the price qualified set and its respective price proposal that reflects a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. It is to be understood that the term “display” is used in a broad sense and encompasses all forms of communication in visual, aural, and tactile format and including both human-and machine-interface variations.

The method for facilitating network external computing assistance of the present invention can be executed manually but is preferably executed via a tangible computer-readable medium for controlling a computing device to generate an output. This tangible computer-readable medium may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The tangible computer-readable medium may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The tangible computer-readable medium may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to execute the steps of the method of the present invention.

The user interface via which the price qualified set is accessible to a network operator may be configured as a stand-alone module that can be provided at no cost, at cost, or via leasing to network operators, wherein this stand-alone module may be configured to implement the method for facilitating network external computing assistance once operationally connected to a network. Alternatively, the user interface via which the price qualified set is accessible to a network operator may be configured and controlled by an intermediary agent which is figuratively between the network operators seeking migration guidance and the cloud service providers. The intermediary agent may configure the user interface and may provide the ancillary services that harvest the data to be handled during the implementation of the method for facilitating network external computing assistance, such as, for example, the network discovery services that identify and catalog the assets of the network. Additionally, the intermediary agent may solicit, coordinate, and structure the display artifacts via which information about the “sponsoring” and “non-sponsoring” cloud service provider is provided to the network operators. In this connection, the intermediary agent may solicit participation from potential “sponsoring” cloud service provider by negotiating or prescribing a price offering menu, for example, or the intermediary agent may conduct a bidding process among potential “sponsoring” cloud service provider and award successful bid presenters with preferred listing opportunities, guaranteed minimum number of listing presentations, etc.

As seen in FIG. 4, which is a schematic illustration of a display that may be configured on, and configured via, a dashboard platform for displaying information about the price qualified sets obtained via the method of the present invention, such a display may be configured on, and configured via, a dashboard platform 470 and the dashboard platform 470 may be configured to provide an intentionally ordered presentation of the alternative task performer or performers in the price qualified set with such presentation being communicated visually and/or aurally to the network operator. The intentionally ordered presentation of the alternative task performer or performers in the price qualified set may be arranged, for example, so as to provide the network operator with a hierarchal listing of the alternative task performer or performers in the price qualified set. As another example, the alternative task performer or performers in the price qualified set may be so arranged, for example, so as to provide the network operator with a hierarchal listing of the alternative task performer or performers in the price qualified set based upon directing the network operator to preferred resources that can help resolve metrics issues or capitalize upon identified opportunities. Further in this connection, the preferred resources can be composed of vendors who have a particular capability such as, for example, cloud service providers having a particular capability, or vendors who are given preference relative to other vendors based upon a sponsorship criteria (i.e., “sponsoring” vendors are given a preferential showing in the display provided by the dashboard platform 470 as opposed to “non-sponsoring”vendors).

The exemplary format displayed by the dashboard 470 in FIG. 4 includes a “banner”-type listing 484 comprising information about a “sponsoring” cloud service provider and this “banner”-type listing 484 is presented in a text and graphics format. The “banner”-type listing 484 is presented as the topmost one of a vertical listing of the cloud service providers in the price qualified set. For the purposes of illustration, it is assumed that the other cloud service providers 486 listed below the “banner”-type listing 484 are “non-sponsoring” cloud service providers. Information about the other cloud service providers 486 listed below the “banner”-type listing 484 are displayed in a text-only format or in another format selected to be less noticeable than the “banner”-type listing 484 comprising information about a “sponsoring” cloud service providers. Thus, by virtue of its topmost listing on the vertical listing of vendors and its more noticeable presentation in both text and graphics, as opposed to text alone, the “banner”-type listing 484 comprising information about a “sponsoring” cloud service providers is given a preferential showing in the display provided by the dashboard platform 470 as opposed to the “non-sponsored” cloud service providers 486. “Banner”-type listings may be comprised solely of graphic, graphics and text, or text only and may include, for example, rich media (audio/video), promotions, or any feature that increases the value of listing to a vendor or a potential vendor willing to give value in return for a status as a “sponsoring” vendor.

In accordance with one variant for displaying the price qualified set, with particular application in the context of cloud service providers who agree to be “sponsoring” cloud service providers, cloud service providers may create and manage their listings through a user interface that permits the creation of one or more listing formats, the selection of details to associate with the listings, and an insert template that governs how and in which situations a listing will be displayed to a network operator. The cloud service provider may enter additional pieces of information and functionality pertaining to each listing. The cloud service provider may choose that a given listing be targeted only a discrete group of network operators, such as those meeting a set of customer demographics. Cloud service providers may set the specific price at which they are willing to offer their cloud services such as, for example, a single price or a price range for a “computing unit.” If desired, cloud service providers may have the ability to be apprised of the price offerings of other cloud service providers in order, for example, to ensure that their listing appears in a desired position or to optimize the “click-through” response or contact response of the listing.

A network asset may be embodied in a tangible form as a “hardware” element and can include physical devices such as a server, a router, or a peripheral device such as a scanner or a printer. Alternatively, a network asset may be embodied as a “software” element. A “hardware” element may have an operational connection with a “software” element—i.e., a work station, a desktop computer, or a mobile telephony device that runs an operating program.

It is possible to characterize or describe the operational relationships between the hardware elements, the software elements, and the other elements of a network and the several types of operational relationships can be classified into categories of operational relationships. For example, a hardware configuration, a software configuration, or a usage configuration of a network asset may be seen as examples of operational relationship categories referred to as configurations. As another example, when considering an operational relationship between a given pair of network assets, if it is determined that one of the pair of network assets cannot perform its ascribed network function without the assistance of the other one of the pair of network assets then this is an example of an operational relationship category referred to as a dependency.

The hardware configurations may be noted via various descriptors, such as, for example, a descriptor referring to a geographical or plant facility location where a network asset is housed or a descriptor referring to memory capacity of a given network asset. The software configurations may be noted via various descriptors, such as for example, a descriptor referring to a given operating system or its modules, or a descriptor referring to the lag or non-lag status in the updating of the version of an operating system. The usage configurations may be noted via various descriptors, such as, for example, a descriptor referring to the times, frequencies, or types of input to a network asset or the times, frequencies, or types of outputs from a network asset. Another descriptor of a usage configuration may refer to claimed/unclaimed space of the network asset while a further descriptor may refer to physical space needs of a network asset or its energy use profile.

The process of identifying, and properly characterizing, the operational relationships between the hardware elements, the software elements, and the other elements of a network, is often termed as a “discovery” process and this discovery process can be performed manually or via the assistance of tailored discovery techniques including those using devices and software that automatically identify the operational relationships between the hardware elements, the software elements, and the other elements. Additionally, such discovery devices and software can be coupled with other devices or software that present the discovered information in a user-friendly format such as via a graphical user interface.

Information collected about the various operational relationships in a network can yield a picture about the performance of the network as a whole as well as a picture about the performance of all of the sub-groups of the network or selected sub-groups of the network. The network external facilitating method of the present invention can be executed to more accurately define the resolution flexible task that could be performed by an alternative task performer, such as a “cloud service performer” in lieu of the task being performed by the network. In this connection, one known or conventional approach to defining such resolution flexible tasks involves merely acquiring an inventory of the hardware and software network assets. Yet a network operator may not be able to rely on such an inventory listing of the hardware and software network assets to accurately or comprehensively identify those hardware and software network assets which will be released from the burden of performing a given resolution flexible task in the event that an alternative task performer, such as a “cloud service performer”, were to be chosen to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network. To be sure, some assessment can be attempted to surmise which of the hardware and software network assets listed on an inventory listing of the hardware and software network assets will be impacted by shifting one or many tasks to an alternate task performer such as a cloud service performer. But a network operator typically does not have any worthwhile real knowledge, or modeled knowledge, of the sub-tasks performed by the hardware and software network assets in executing the resolution flexible tasks. Thus, such an assessment will likely lead to a false or inaccurate estimation of the “replacement” resources that must be arranged if an alternate task performer such as a cloud service performer were to perform the tasks.

On the other hand, in accordance with the network external facilitating method of the present invention, the various operational relationships in the network are identified and this identifying information can provide a more accurate picture of those hardware and software network assets which will be released from the burden of performing the given resolution flexible task. Moreover, in accordance with the network external facilitating method of the present invention, the identifying information about the various operational relationships in the network is consolidated and evaluated in association with information about the alternate task performers, such as the cloud service performers, to arrive at the price qualified sets, such as the price qualified set 830 that has been described herein. A network operator can then be assured of a more realistic estimation of the “replacement” resources and can see and understand the respective price proposals of the alternative task performer that can provide the “replacement”resources.

FIG. 9 shows in a schematic environmental view these inputs relating to the various operational relationships in the network, the inputs about the alternate task performers and the outputs generated by the method in the form of price proposals of the alternative task performers that can provide services to the network operator. A network 310, which can be, for example, the network 910 described with respect to FIG. 3, includes a collection of “hardware” elements and “software” elements such as representatively shown visa pair of desktop computers 312 and 314 that are each embodied as a “hardware” element (i.e., the “hardware” elements of an input device such as a keyboard and a display terminal) and a “software” element (an operating system) having an operational connection with the “hardware” elements. A discovery device 320 in the form of an automatic discovery device is operable to perform discovery of the assets of the network 310 (the control signals to control the discovery tasks and the transmission signals to transmit the discovered information are schematically designated via the links 322). The discovery device 320 can be controlled or operated by the network operator itself or by a third party discovery service provider. The third party discovery service provider may perform additional services in the role of an assessment intermediary that provides a full service package including a discovery deliverable and an enhanced decision deliverable or the assessment intermediary may obtain the discovery information from the network operator or a third party discovery service provider and then provide an enhanced decision deliverable to the network operator. As seen in FIG. 9, an assessment intermediary 340 is shown for illustration purposes that provides a full service package including a discovery deliverable and an enhanced decision deliverable.

The discovery tasks are specifically performed to yield identifying information about the various operational relationships in the network 310. Information about the alternate task performers, such as plurality of cloud service performers 350, is gathered before, during, and/or after the discovery of the assets of the network 310 and this vendor information is stored and handled via an appropriate arrangement such as, for example, a vendor list software program 352 operated by the assessment intermediary 340. Information about the cloud service performers 350 may includes information about the input/output characteristics of these providers and may include information concerning the price or range of prices for performing a “standard” computing task.

Via a consolidation/evaluation program 342, which is schematically shown as a program performed by a remote server 342, the assessment intermediary 340 consolidates and evaluates the identifying information about the various operational relationships in the network 310 that has been received from the discovery device 320 and information about the cloud service performers 350 that has been curated by the vendor list software program 352. The consolidation/evaluation program 342 evaluates either the entirety of the hardware, software, and usage configurations of the network 310, or evaluates selected portions of the hardware, software, and usage configurations of the network 310, in accordance with any suitable evaluation protocol to yield an estimate of the hardware and software network assets that will be impacted in the event that one or more of the cloud service performers 350 were to be chosen to perform one or more resolution flexible tasks in lieu of the task or tasks being performed by the network and/or the manner in which such hardware and software network assets will be impacted. In addition, the consolidation/evaluation program 342 evaluates information about the cloud service performers 350 that has been obtained from vendor list software program 352 including, for example, information about the input/output characteristics of these providers and information concerning the price or range of prices for performing a “standard” computing task. In view of the fact that a given cloud service performer may define a “standard” computing task differently than other cloud service performers, the consolidation/evaluation program 342 may optionally be configured to normalize data received about these individual cloud service performer computing task prices so that a network operator can be presented with a clear picture for cost comparison purposes. The evaluation protocol can be embodied in proprietary methodology owned or controlled by the assessment intermediary 340 and can be configured to permit interaction by a network operator. For example, a network operator may be permitted to interact with the evaluation protocol executed by the consolidation/evaluation program 342 to vary the selection of the resolution flexible task or the resolution flexible tasks to be considered.

The price qualified sets 830 are conveniently rendered in graphical format and formatted for display on a device of the network operator such as, for example, a laptop 360, a tablet 362, or a mobile telephone 364. A network operator can then be assured of a more realistic estimation of the “replacement” resources and can see and understand the respective price proposals of the alternative task performer that can provide the “replacement” resources

Reference has been had herein to FIG. 7 for a description of how a network can be defined via its nodes and links. The method of the present invention makes use of discovery information that has been obtained concerning the assets of a network and, more particularly, discovery information concerning the hardware, software, and usage configurations of the network. Solely for the purpose of illustrating one approach for discovering the hardware, software, and usage configurations of the network, reference is now had to a description in U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,751 to Kelley et al of a proposed approach for monitoring several links between a pair of switches in a network. The switches can be regarded as “nodes” within the network that are “linked” to one another via the links.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,751 to Kelley et al discloses a method of collecting, recording, and normalizing network performance information and describes a monitoring approach via the use of probes. To assist in gaming an understanding this monitoring approach, the present application includes FIG. 10, which is a schematic view of a plurality of physical links that are established between the two switches in a computer network and which are schematically illustrated in FIG. 4B of U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,751 to Kelley et al. According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,751 to Kelley et al, in connection with its disclosed method of collecting, recording, and normalizing network performance, a monitoring of the links between the two switches in the computer network can be performed for the purpose of increasing the overall bandwidth available between the two switches. In analogous manner, such a monitoring approach can be undertaken in connection with the method of the present invention to obtain or discover information about the hardware, software, and usage configurations, or to obtain or discover information about other operational relationships such as dependencies, relating to these two switches and the links between them. It can be understood that information about the hardware, software, and usage configurations, and other operational relationships such as dependencies, of the nodes and links of the remainder of the network can be obtained or discovered in analogous manner. Additionally, it can be understood that other discovery approaches are also suitable for use in executing the method of the present invention including discovery approaches that do not make use of agents or probes.

According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,751 to Kelley et al, the two switches are linked by a total of eight physical links and these eight distinct physical links may be used as one logical link, with data from any particular application or source being sent across different physical links at any given time. Generally, the eight physical links are used to effectively increase the bandwidth between the two switches. According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,751 to Kelley et al notes that an individual probe can monitor and report in the performance of one physical link, although in many cases it may be advantageous to monitor and report on the network performance al the logical link level—that is, across all eight of the physical links. As seen in FIG. 10, the two switches, designated as the switch A, 414, and switch B, 416, are linked by eight separate gigabit Ethernet links, thereby establishing one logical link 415, between the two switches 414 and 416. Physical link 1, 420, and physical link 2, 425 are connected to a first source probe, 460 through its interfaces. Through these interfaces, the first source probe 460 monitors the performance of links 1 and 2, 420 and 425 respectively. Physical link 3, 430, and physical link 4, 435 are connected to a second source probe 465 through its interfaces. Through these interfaces, the second source probe, 465, monitors the performance of links 3 and 4, 430 and 435 respectively. Physical link 5, 440, and physical link 6, 445 are connected to a third source probe 470. The third source probe 470 monitors the performance of links 5 and 6, 440 and 445 respectively. Physical link 7, 450, and physical link 8, 455 are connected to a fourth source probe 475. The fourth source probe 475 monitors the performance of links 7 and 7, 450 and 455 respectively.

According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,751 to Kelley et al, each source probe collects data on the links to which it is connected, and relays the information via a network 480 to a destination probe 485. In some instances, the information may be relayed using alternative technologies such as wireless data transfer, optical data transfer, as well as others.

An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated by a computer system. It will be convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to the above-referenced signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it will be appreciated that throughout the description of the present invention, use of terms such as “processing”, “computing”, “calculating”, “determining”, “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. Further, various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented with the aid of computer-implemented processes or methods (a.k.a. programs or routines) that may be rendered in any computer language including, without limitation, C#, C/C++, Fortran, COBOL, PASCAL, assembly language, markup languages (e.g., HTML, SGML, XML, VoXML), and the like, as well as object-oriented environments such as the Java object-oriented environment and the like. In general, however, all of the aforementioned terms as used herein are meant to encompass any sense of logical steps performed in a sequence to accomplish a given purpose.

The present invention can be implemented with an apparatus to perform the operations described herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, of it may comprise a general-purpose computer, selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs). EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus.

The algorithms and processes presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method. For example, any of the methods according to the present invention can be implemented in hard-wired circuitry, by programming a general-purpose processor or by any combination of hardware and software.

One of ordinary skill in the art will immediately appreciate that the invention can be practiced with computer system configurations of any type, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, DSP devices, network PCs minicomputers, mainframe computers, personal computers, and the like. The invention can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing pricing information about a potential migration of a network computing task, the method comprising: providing a provider availability set, wherein the set includes those cloud service providers who are deemed capable of performing the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network; with respect to those cloud service providers in the availability set, identifying a price qualified set each member of which is a cloud service provider: (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the cloud service provider to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network, the step of identifying a price qualified set including evaluating selected operational relationships between assets of the network to determine the scope and extent of computing services that would need to be provided by each cloud service provider in the availability set in the event that the respective cloud service provider were to perform the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network; and displaying the information about each cloud service provider and its pricing via a user interface.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of identifying a price qualified set includes determining the dependencies between those respective assets of the network that would be involved in handling the network computing task if the network computing task is not migrated to a cloud service provider and generating a respective price proposal for each cloud service provider that takes into account the necessary computing resources of the cloud service provider that need to be engaged to handle such computing work of these respective assets of the network.
 3. A method for providing information about a network, the network being operable to perform a resolution flexible task which is a task that could be performed via a given set of assets of the network or that could alternatively be performed via an alternative task performer external to the network, the method comprising: providing an availability set each member of which is an alternative task performer deemed capable of performing a resolution flexible task in lieu of the task being performed by the network; with respect to those alternative task performers in the availability set, identifying a price qualified set each member of which is an alternative task performer (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network, the step of identifying a price qualified set including evaluating selected operational relationships between assets of the network to determine the scope and extent of computing services that would need to be provided by each cloud service provider in the availability set in the event that the respective cloud service provider were to perform the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network; and at least one of communicating information via a user interface about the price qualified set or initiating the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of providing an availability set includes designating a collection of assets of the network as the given set of assets and deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein each alternative task performer of the availability set is a cloud computing resource.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the step of at least one of communicating information via a user interface about the price qualified set or initiating the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set includes communicating information about each alternative task performer in the price qualified set and its respective price proposal that reflects a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein designating a collection of assets of the network as the given set of assets includes identifying a group of computing operations that are to be considered as suitable to be performed by an alternative task performer in lieu of being performed by the network and evaluating the assets of the network according to an evaluation criteria to determine if each such evaluated asset would be needed in the event that the network were to perform the identified group of computing operations.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein evaluating the assets of the network according to an evaluation criteria includes determining the existence of a dependency between an individual asset and another individual asset, wherein a dependency is deemed to exist if the cumulative computing operations performed by the given set of assets of the network could not be performed if the individual asset were not part of the given set of assets.
 9. The method according to claim 3, wherein the availability set includes at least two alternative task performers and the step of identifying a price qualified set includes determining the respective price proposal of each alternative task performer of the availability set in compliance with a uniformly applied price work up protocol that is applied to all alternative task performers in the availability set.
 10. The method according to claim 5, wherein the step of at least one of communicating information via a user interface about the price qualified set of initiating the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set includes displaying information about the price qualified set.
 11. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of providing an availability set includes deeming a set of assets less than the total assets of the network to be a first collection of assets of the network, deeming another set of assets less than the total assets of the network and comprising different a different set of assets than the first collection of assets of the network to be a second collection of assets of the network, and iteratively deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the first collection of assets of the network, designating the first collection of assets of the network to be the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network and generating a price qualified set based upon the first collection of assets of the network being designated as the given set of assets of the network, and deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the second collection of assets of the network, designating the second collection of assets of the network to be the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network, and generating a price qualified set based upon the second collection of assets of the network being designated as the given set of assets of the network, and providing information on the price qualified sets generated respectively based upon the first collection of assets of the network and based upon the second collection of assets of the network.
 12. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of providing information on the price qualified sets generated respectively based upon the first collection of assets of the network and based upon the second collection of assets of the network includes communicating a hierarchal listing of alternative task performers with the hierarchy being based upon a predetermined user preference criteria.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of communicating a hierarchal listing of alternative task performers includes communicating the hierarchal listing in a manner which gives preference in the hierarchal listing among the enumerated alternative task performers to those alternative task performers who meet a sponsorship criteria.
 14. A tangible computer-readable medium for storing instructions for controlling a computing device to generate an output, the instructions controlling the computing device to perform steps comprising: accessing information about a network that is operable to perform a resolution flexible task which is a task that could be performed via a given set of assets of the network or that could alternatively be performed via an alternative task performer external to the network; accessing an availability set each member of which is an alternative task performer deemed capable of performing a resolution flexible task in lieu of the task being performed by the network; with respect to those alternative task performers in the availability set, identifying a price qualified set each member of which is an alternative task performer: (a) whose price for performing the task complies with a price acceptability criteria or (b) that has a respective price proposal associated therewith reflecting a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network, the step of identifying a price qualified set including evaluating selected operational relationships between assets of the network to determine the scope and extent of computing services that would need to be provided by each cloud service provider in the availability set in the event that the respective cloud service provider were to perform the network computing task in lieu of the task being performed by the network; and at least one of generating an output with a content about the price qualified set, whereby a display device can display a presentation based upon the transmitted content about the price qualified set, or initiating the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set.
 15. The tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the step of accessing an availability set includes accessing data concerning a collection of assets of the network that have been designated as the given set of assets and deeming the resolution flexible task to be the cumulative computing operations that have been performed by the given set of assets of the network in accomplishing tasks within the network.
 16. The tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein each the alternative task performer of the availability set is a cloud computing resource.
 17. The tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein at least one of generating a signal with a content about the price qualified set or initiating the performance of the task by an alternative task performer in the price qualified set includes generating an output that causes a display device to communicate information about each alternative task performer in the price qualified set and its respective price proposal that reflects a price for engaging the alternative task performer to perform the task in lieu of the task being performed by the network.
 18. The tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the collection of assets of the network that have been designated as the given set of assets includes assets of the network that have been selected via a process of identifying a group of computing operations that are to be considered for performance by an alternative task performer in lieu of the network and evaluating the assets of the network according to an evaluation criteria to determine if each such evaluated asset would be needed in the event that the network were to perform the identified group of computing operations.
 19. The tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein evaluating the assets of the network according to an evaluation criteria includes determining the existence of a dependency between an individual asset and another individual asset, wherein a dependency is deemed to exist if the cumulative computing operations performed by the given set of assets of the network could not be performed if the individual asset were not part of the given set of assets.
 20. The tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the availability set includes at least two alternative task performers and the step of identifying a price qualified set includes determining the respective price proposal of each alternative task performer of the availability set in compliance with a uniformly applied price work up protocol that is applied to all alternative task performers in the availability set. 